Sheet Metal parts on the shelf in the U.S. ? Options

[Literati914]

Not looking for any political opinions from the following:

I got sticker shock on the shipping of a few sheet metal parts for my next restoration when I enquired at Restoration Design. Then I remembered - duh, tariffs. No big deal I'll get this stuff from PMB, they're US and I should have considered them first anyway! .. well they apparently don't actually stock them and so again shipping is from Canada and also comical. No reason to ever buy sheet metal from them though IMHO.

I then call Automobile Atlanta and get a low-key brag about how AA makes most of their own sheet metal, was first to do so, etc. etc. I ask the guy on the line to check stock on 4 items before placing my order on-line, just to be sure they were in stock. One item was not available (but y'all make them right?). Anyway I placed the order for the three items (rear trunk floor, the small parking brake pivot piece, and the interior lower firewall complete (which is inconveniently sold as two pieces from AA for some reason). The online shipping for this order was around $50 which seems about right, but there was a note that it could increase a little once the package was made up. After placing the order I get a note saying that shipping is going to be $415 !! - That is close to what Restoration Design was going to charge, plus they had the pieces that AA didn't, so..

I've shipping a set of heat exchangers not all that long ago for a fraction of that shipping quote.. so I know these items can't be that high to ship within the states. Tariffs are the only thing that has changed.

Anyone actually stock these ?

[Literati914]

Well I wouldn't feel so bad about it, if they admitted they were drop shipping from Canada, like PMB did when I contacted them.

But Automobile Atlanta not only verified that the pieces were on hand (dude put me on hold to 'go check'), but they actually gave me a whole spiel on how they make most of the sheet metal for 914, blah blah..

[mepstein]

Well I wouldn't feel so bad about it, if they admitted they were drop shipping from Canada, like PMB did when I contacted them.

But Automobile Atlanta not only verified that the pieces were on hand (dude put me on hold to 'go check'), but they actually gave me a whole spiel on how they make most of the sheet metal for 914, blah blah..

I once drove an hour to a shop that had I part that I needed that day to get a customers car out of my shop. I verified on the phone that they had the part on the shelf. I got there, asked for the part and the owner goes to his computer to pull it up on SSF. Well, I get free overnight shipping from SSF so I could have done that too but in my world, "on the shelf" means on the shelf in my shop. Live and learn.